Lubricating apparatus



May 2 1', 1940., A. P. FOX ET AL 2,201,163

LUBRICATING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 50. 193?.

Patented May 21, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Klein,

St. Louis, Mo.,

assignors to Lincoln Engineering Company, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Application August 30, 1937, Serial No. 161,638

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in lubricating apparatus, and it relates more particularly to lubricating apparatus of the general character disclosed in United States Letters Patent Nos. 1,959,517; 1,959,529; 1,947,208; and 2,010,174, wherein a temporary, fluid-tight connection is made between a grease-cup or so-called lubricant-receiving fitting or lubricant-receiving nipple, on one hand, and a lubricant dispensing pump, compressor, or so-called grease-gun, on the other hand, through a lubricant-delivery nozzle or a coupler which is held against the grease-cup by manual pressure applied by the operator during the actual delivery of the grease from the pump to the grease-cup.

Grease-delivery or lubricant-delivery couplers or nozzles of this general type shown in Patents Nos. 1,959,517; 1,959,529; 1,947,208; and 2,010,174, may be generally referred to as push-contact nozzles insofar as sealing contact or operative contact between the grease-cup and the greasedelivery coupler or nozzle of the grease-gun is maintained by merely manually pushing the nozzle against the grease-cup during grease-injection or grease-delivery.

Push-contact type grease-delivery or lubricant-delivery couplers or nozzles may be generally classified or divided into two groups, according to whether the nozzle makes contact with the grease-cup or lubricant-receiving fitting or nipple on the outside of the latter, or whether it makes contact with the lubricant-receiving fitting or nipple on some inner surface thereof, as for instance, along the internal edge of the lubricant-receiving hole or aperture of the greasecup, fitting or nipple.

The "externally-contacting" type of push-contact couplers or nozzles may be exemplified by the lubricant-delivery nozzles shown in United States Patents Nos. 1,459,662; 1,736,160, 1,494,652; and by the structure shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3 of Patent No. 1,475,980; and by the structure shown in Figures 1 and 2 of Patent No. 1,551,261, (and many others), while the internally-contacting type of push-contact couplers or nozzles may be exemplified by the lubricant-delivery nozzles shown in United States Patents Nos. 1,582,969; 1,673,459; 1,684,946; 1,716,501; 1,793,492; 1,840,111; and by the structure shown in Figures 4, 5 and 6 of Patent No. 1,475,980; and by the structure shown in Figure 3 of Patent No. 1,551,261; and British Patent No. 140,355 (of 1920).

Owing to the fact that the lubricant-receiving apertures or holes in push-contact type greasecups, fittings or nipples are preferably made as small as may be permitted by allowable manufacturing costs (so as to minimize the amount of dirt which may get into the grease-cup through the inlet aperture which is normally exposed), push-contact type lubricant-delivery nozzles of the internally-contacting kind must be correspondingly small; and because of their small size raise the problem of conveniently guiding the tip of the nozzle into alignment with the hole in the grease-cup or lubricant-receiving fitting or nipple.

Each of the "internally-contacting push-contact nozzles shown in Patents Nos. 1,959,529; 1,947,208; and 2,010,174, has added means for guiding the small grease-delivery tip of the internally-contacting push-contact nozzle into alignment with thehole of the grease-cup or lubricant-receiving nipple.

One of the problems in providing such guiding means for nozzles of this general character is to permit the operative meeting of nozzle-tip and a grease-cup hole even though they are not in true axial alignment, but have their axes at 2.

slight angle to each other within a reasonable range of angularity.

A further problem in providing such guiding means for nozzles of this general character is to permit a suitable axial inclination or suitable stantial telescoping of nozzle-guide over the grease-cup body involves either a substantial clearance between the so telescoped portions, in which event the guidance is not as accurate as may be desired for the very fine lubricant-delivery tip and lubricant-receiving hole, or ifthe clearance is reduced, the angularity both in approach or operative meeting as well as after contact is established, is curtailed to some extent.

By means of the inwardly extending guiding flange 19 of Patent No. 2,010,174, which may fit over the head of the grease-cup of said Patent No. 2,010,174, and the groove 63 in said grease-cup beneath the head, not only is close or accurate guidance between grease-cup and nozzle obtainable, but a substantial amount of angularity is obtainable between nozzle and grease-cup (while grease is being forced into the grease-cup) without prying the fine tip of the nozzle away from the lubricant-receiving hole of the grease-cup.

The guide construction shown in Figure 1 of Patent No. 2,010,174 requires, however, that the grease-cup or lubricant-receiving nipple be provided with a peripheral clearance groove.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide an internally-contacting push-contact coupling which may be interchangeably and equally effectively used on the various different kinds of push-contact type of grease-cups, that is, those having the downwardly and outwardly flaring side-wall as shown in Patent No. 1,947,208; those having a generally cylindrical side-wall devoid of any peripheral clearance groove, of the kind shown generally in Patent No. 1,959,529, and those having a clearance groove or reduced neck portion, as for instance, that shown in Patent No. 2,010,174.

A further object of the present invention is to provide such interchangeable or universal type of internally-contacting push-contact coupling, which may telescope over the greasecup or lubricant-receiving fitting or nipple to a substantial extent, and with a close enough clearance between telescoping. surfaces to assure accurate meeting of lubricant-delivery tip and lubricant-receiving hole, and which will yet permit of a substantial angularity both in approac as well as during lubricapbdelivery without prying the lubricant-delivery tip of the nozzle from the lubricant-receiving hole of the grease-cup.

With the above and other objects in view which will appear more fully from the following detailed description, the present invention comprises, among other things, the elements and combinations of elements, features of construction, and arrangement of parts, which will be exemplified in the structures hereinafter described, and the scope of the application all of which will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawing, in which like reference characters indicate like parts,

Figure 1 represents a longitudinal sectional view (on a much enlarged scale) of the lubricant-delivery device or coupler and grease-cup embodying the present invention, with the nozzle and grease cup shown in axial alignment with each other.

Figure 2 represents a sectional view similar to that shown in Figure 1, but with the axes of the nozzle and grease-cup at a slight angle to each other.

Figure 3 represents an enlarged view of the so-called needle forming part of the nozzle construction.

The coupler may include a tubular body portion I, which may be threaded at its rear end either externally or internally, as at 2, whereby it may be afiixed to the discharge opening of a lubricant dispensing compressor or grease-gun in the general manner shown in Patents Nos. 1,971,778 and 2,038,761, or to the delivery-end of a lubricant discharge pipe or conduit or valved handle of a lubricant dispensing pump, compressor or grease-gun, as for instance, the valved lubricant dispensin-g handles shown in Patents Nos. 1,733,441 and 1,812,798, and shown in Figures 1 and 2 of Patent No. 1,925,832 and shown in Figures 1 and 7 of Patent No. 1,963,783 and in Figures 6, 7 and 9 of Patent No. 1,654,673 or the tubular body portion I may be formed integrally with or in continuation of the high-pressure cylinder of the grease-gun, as in Patent No. 2,010,174, for instance.

The body I is preferably provided with a smalldiameter opening 3, followed toward its outer end by a larger diameter opening 4, whereby an annular transverse shoulder 55 is provided, against which is closely fitting gasket 6 is adapted to rest;-the gasket 6 being of a suitable lubricant-resistant and yet more or less resilient material, and preferably fitting snugly within the larger bore i of the tubular body portion 1 of the nozzle.

The gasket may be any of the so-called artificial rubber compositions, some of which are known in the trade as Duprene, Neoprene, Thiokol, etc.

The nozzle proper designated generally by the numeral 7 consists of a generally tubular shank portion 8, which projects and extends into the central hole or aperture in the gasket 6, the flange portion 9 which extends laterally and bears against one face of the gasket 6, and the tip portion ll which is also tubular and the outer surface of which is generated by the rotation of an arc of a circle about the axis of the nozzle l;the center of the arc of the circle being outside the solid generated by such rotation of the circular arc, as shown particularly in Figure 3. As the taper at any point along the tip ill is determined by the inclination of a tangent to such circular arc, such taper, instead of being uniform, is gradually varying from the end of the tip backwardly along the tip. Thus, the taper becomes more and more gradual, or becomes less and less, as the so generated surface recedes from the end of the tip. As the diameter of the hole ll of the grease cup or so-called lubricant-receiving fitting or nipple 52 may Vary, in diameter, and indeed may be enlarged after the grease-cup has been used for some time, the nozzle tip l3 may enter deeper and deeper into the grease-cup; and as its entry into the grease-cup increases the taper at the circular zone of contact decreases.

An outer sleeve-like shell l3 is threadedly superimposed or mounted upon the end of the tubular body member l, by means of the screw thread it, and serves, among other things, to clamp a metallic washer or disc to rigidly in place to act as a. separator for supporting the needle nozzle 7 on one hand, and the guide-cup it on the other hand;the disc it being held in place between the transverse terminal surface ll of the tubular coupler body l and the slight transverse shoulder it formed in the shell H.

The disc l5 is provided with a central aperture l9 through which the tip portion ill of the nozzle 1 projects. The parts are so proportioned that when the disc i5 is clamped firmly in place, the flange ll of the needle nozzle l is pressed tightly against the flat transverse face of the gasket 6 so as to form a fluid-tight seal.

At the outer end of the tubular sleeve iii, an in-turned annular flange it is provided whose inner periphery is of a diameter substantially greater than the diameter of the head 2! of the grease-cup 52 in relation to which the nozzle is to be guided, and indeed is of a diameter so uniformly tapered, as indicated, or which may be of a curved contour as for instance, an annular portion of a sphere or an annular portion of some other curved body, thereby to provide a "rocking seat for the curved end-surface 23 of the guide-cup It. The guide-cup l6 may be provided with a generally cylindrical inner surface 24 of a diameter just sufficiently greater than the diameter of the head 2! of the grease-cup so as to telescope over it with a neat fit (a few thousandths of an inch being allowed for variations in head-diameters of grease-cups resulting from mass production of the grease-cups). The guidecup is also provided with a smaller diameter rear opening or aperture 25 through which the tip.

portion IU of the nozzle 1 extends and which is suifciently large to give wide clearance around the nozzle tip I0. The rear external surface 26 of the guide-cup I6 is again of curved contour so as to permit the rocking of the cup in the manner indicated in Figure 2. A helical c0mpression spring 27 is interposed between the disc l5 and the transverse annular surface or shoulder 28 near the outer end of the cup 56, which serves to press the cup it against the annular internal inclined surface 22 of the in-turned flange portion 2!! of the sleeve I3.

\ Whenever the nozzle approaches the head of the grease-cup at a slight angle, as indicated in Figure 2, the guide-cup I6 is cocked to one side as indicated in Figure 2 and serves as centering means to guide the tip II] of the nozzle 1 into the hole H of the grease-cup I2.

The parts are so proportioned that the contact zone on thetip ID will be more or less approximately in the center of the rocking motion of the cup it so that however the cup It may rock at a slight angle, the principal zone of contact on the tip Ill Will be at or near the center of such rocking motion so that the hole in the head of the grease-cup will nevertheless be guided to the tip l0.

Likewise, if the grease-cup and nozzle are brought into contact with each other in axial alignment as indicated in Figure 1 and thereafter, and during the course of the greasing oper- The word surface as used in the claims comprehends both relatively substantial surfaces, as for instance the surfaces 22 or 23 illustrated in Fig. 2, and also surfaces of generally limited extent, as for instance the narrow surfaces provided by corners or the like, such as the limited surface provided by the lowermost edge of surface 22.

The present invention may be embodied. in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and it is therefore desired that the present embodiment be needle-type nozzle and angularly movable with respect thereto and having a substantially convexly spherical end surface, and means providing a cooperating seat for rockingly receiving said end surface, said latter means being fixedly related to said coupling.

2. In a lubricant coupling device for connecting a lubricant supply conduit with an apertured grease-cup, said device including a tubular coupling body having mounted within it a tubular needle-type lubricant-delivery nozzle generally stationary with respect to said coupling, angularlymovable means for guiding the tip of said needle-type nozzle into sealing contact with the edge of the aperture of said grease-cup comprising a generally tubular guide member surrounding the tip of said needle-type nozzle and angularly movable with respect thereto, a guide-retaining sleeve fixedly related to said coupling and having a seating surface for rockingly receiving said angularly movable guide member, and spring means urging said angularly movable guide member up against said seating surface;-the center of movement of said angularly movable guide member being generally in the zone of contact between said needle-type nozzle and said greasecup.

ALEXANDER P. FOX. VICTOR G. KLEIN. 

